Nomura’s Laser Digital Launches Tokenized Bitcoin Yield Fund

The fund, announced 22 Jan, is the first natively tokenized Bitcoin yield vehicle designed for institutional holders. Targeting a net return of 5% above spot Bitcoin performance, the product seeks to solve the "dead capital" problem for institutions by harvesting yield from market-neutral arbitrage, lending, and options strategies.

The fund is natively tokenized via KAIO (formerly Libre Capital), allowing for 24/7 onchain settlement and improved transparency compared to traditional offshore vehicles. 

This move represents the next stage of the institutional pivot Sandmark has tracked throughout January, shifting from simple "beta" exposure to sophisticated, yield-bearing infrastructure. It validates the broader trend where even $6.3bn Treasury ETFs are now being used as test beds for pulling regulated asset classes into the digital financial system.

Transitioning from passive to active yield

For institutional investors, the "ETF era" of 2024-2025 is being superseded by a demand for products that generate cash flow. Laser Digital’s new vehicle harvests yield from the volatile derivatives market while maintaining a Tier-1 custody environment through Komainu - the joint venture between Nomura, CoinShares and Ledger.

Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital, said in the official release that the fund is a response to the "regime of macro volatility" where traditional hedges have failed. By wrapping Bitcoin in a market-neutral strategy, Laser is providing the "idiosyncratic" returns that large-scale asset managers now require to combat the diversification mirage currently plaguing the US bond market.

Native tokenization as the new standard

Unlike "wrapped" digital twins of traditional fund shares, the Laser fund is "natively tokenized," meaning the share registry exists directly on the blockchain. 

This enables "atomic settlement", the ability to move billions in collateral in seconds, bypassing the T+2 delays of the legacy banking system. The infrastructure allows the fund to function not just as an investment, but as high-quality collateral within the institutional DeFi ecosystem.

The fund is currently open to select accredited investors in eligible jurisdictions (excluding the US), with a minimum investment of $250,000. The direction is no longer about who owns the most Bitcoin, but who owns the most efficient digital "pipes" to generate yield from it.